Coatesville chief's plan for police force and the city off to a positive start

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Fighting crime in Coatesville is among the most challenging of duties in Chester County law enforcement. Not only is there rampant drug abuse and the property crimes associated with it, but there is also a high level of violent crime in the city. Couple those two obstacles to a peaceful life with the notion that many in the community do not trust police, or have given themselves over to the “no snitching” rule of thumb, and a police officer’s job in the old steel town is made even tougher.

But for Chief Jack Laufer, the responsibility for heading the department is made even tougher by the fact that he inherited one of the more dysfunctional police departments in the county, if not the region. There were factions in the department outwardly hostile to one another, accusations of improper, if not criminal, behavior by officers, and at one time a chief who was supremely unqualified to lead Coatsville or any other police department.

But Laufer, a professional among professionals, has made a solid effort to turn around the morale of the department and its perception in the larger community in the six months in which he has been on the job. He has stepped up to the plate in both small and large ways and is, we hope, putting the department on a course that will lead it to a respectable place in our county.

In an interview with staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar, Laufer said Coatesville is keeping him interested, learning and growing. He enjoys the “variety of everything that a career in law enforcement offers you.” In a job where no two calls are alike, there are new challenges to meet every day – something a committed man like Laufer is bound to appreciate.

He wears a uniform to work, not a dress suit, putting himself in the same boat as his officers. He has come out from behind his desk and office and gotten engaged in taking to the street. He keeps a police scanner in his office to stay informed about the daily on-goings. By wearing his bulletproof vest and gun belt, he’s prepared to run out to help his officers on the streets. He has helped respond to calls, includingone in which he and Sgt. Jim Audette helped the fire department on one call when the fire department was short-handed. The pair pulled a hose off of the fire truck to connect it to a hydrant. Last weekend Laufer worked a 12-hour shift, allowing one of his officers to take the day off. He said doing this sets the tone for the police department and shows that the police chief isn’t afraid to get out and work.

“It’s all about what we can do to help Coatesville residents,” Laufer said. We applaud that commitment.